The Awakening: Kate Chopin "She grew daring and reckless. Overestimating her strength. She wanted to swim far out. Where no woman had swum before."
"A taboo subject back in its day, The Awakening tells the story of one woman's emotional journey from a stifled, miserable marriage to a spirited and lusty freedom. Young Edna Pontellier feels trapped in a loveless, although pampered, life with husband, Leonce. Stirrings of independence begin one summer while resorting in Grand Isle, an island off the coast of Louisiana. These new feelings have begun a profound change in Edna, liberating her beyond belief. Thus ensues an infidelity that dreams are made of, although at the expense of her marriage and motherhood." (Amazon.com customer review)
Slaughterhouse- Five: Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut's absurdist classic Slaughterhouse-Five introduces us to Billy Pilgrim, a man who becomes unstuck in time after he is abducted by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore. In a plot-scrambling display of virtuosity, we follow Pilgrim simultaneously through all phases of his life, concentrating on his (and Vonnegut's) shattering experience as an American prisoner of war who witnesses the firebombing of Dresden. Don't let the ease of reading fool you--Vonnegut's isn't a conventional, or simple, novel. He writes, "There are almost no characters in this story, and almost no dramatic confrontations, because most of the people in it are so sick, and so much the listless playthings of enormous forces. One of the main effects of war, after all, is that people are discouraged from being characters..." Slaughterhouse-Five (taken from the name of the building where the POWs were held) is not only Vonnegut's most powerful book, it is as important as any written since 1945 (amazon.com editorial review)
The Chocolate War: Robert Cormier
Jerry Renault is just a freshman the all-boys Trinity School, but from his first football tryout, he’s tough enough to catch the attention of the Vigils, the most powerful clique at Trinity, and its leader Archie Costello. Jerry is a smart kid, who wants to make a difference, find his own way in the world. When the school’s annual chocolate sale/fund-raiser is announced, he doesn’t think his refusal to sell chocolates is going to be such a big deal, but it immediately divides the school. Some think Jerry’s stand is heroic, but Archie thinks that Jerry needs to be taught a lesson. Needs to be broken. And Archie knows just how to do it.
This classic novel gives a shocking look at the traditions of high school and the psychological warfare of bullying. And the unspoken complicity that adults provide in order to maintain appearances. (amazon.com book description)
In Cold Blood: Truman Capote
On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues.
As Truman Capote reconstructs the murder and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, he generates both mesmerizing suspense and astonishing empathy. In Cold Blood is a work that transcends its moment, yielding poignant insights into the nature of American violence. (amazon.com book description)
Franny and Zooey: JD Salinger
Volume containing two interrelated stories by J.D. Salinger, published in book form in 1961. The stories, originally published in The New Yorker magazine, concern Franny and Zooey Glass, two members of the family that was the subject of most of Salinger's short fiction. Franny is an intellectually precocious late adolescent who tries to attain spiritual purification by obsessively reiterating the "Jesus prayer" as an antidote to the perceived superficiality and corruptness of life. She subsequently suffers a nervous breakdown. In the second story, her next older brother, Zooey, attempts to heal Franny by pointing out that her constant repetition of the "Jesus prayer" is as self-involved and egotistical as the egotism against which she rails. (amazon.com editorial review)
[Assignments]
Book Researcher sheet
Background Research template
Lit Circle Roles/discussions
Persuasive Writing paper: Should this book be taught in schools today?
"She grew daring and reckless. Overestimating her strength. She wanted to swim far out. Where no woman had swum before."
"A taboo subject back in its day, The Awakening tells the story of one woman's emotional journey from a stifled, miserable marriage to a spirited and lusty freedom. Young Edna Pontellier feels trapped in a loveless, although pampered, life with husband, Leonce. Stirrings of independence begin one summer while resorting in Grand Isle, an island off the coast of Louisiana. These new feelings have begun a profound change in Edna, liberating her beyond belief. Thus ensues an infidelity that dreams are made of, although at the expense of her marriage and motherhood." (Amazon.com customer review)
Slaughterhouse- Five: Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut's absurdist classic Slaughterhouse-Five introduces us to Billy Pilgrim, a man who becomes unstuck in time after he is abducted by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore. In a plot-scrambling display of virtuosity, we follow Pilgrim simultaneously through all phases of his life, concentrating on his (and Vonnegut's) shattering experience as an American prisoner of war who witnesses the firebombing of Dresden. Don't let the ease of reading fool you--Vonnegut's isn't a conventional, or simple, novel. He writes, "There are almost no characters in this story, and almost no dramatic confrontations, because most of the people in it are so sick, and so much the listless playthings of enormous forces. One of the main effects of war, after all, is that people are discouraged from being characters..." Slaughterhouse-Five (taken from the name of the building where the POWs were held) is not only Vonnegut's most powerful book, it is as important as any written since 1945 (amazon.com editorial review)
The Chocolate War: Robert Cormier
Jerry Renault is just a freshman the all-boys Trinity School, but from his first football tryout, he’s tough enough to catch the attention of the Vigils, the most powerful clique at Trinity, and its leader Archie Costello. Jerry is a smart kid, who wants to make a difference, find his own way in the world. When the school’s annual chocolate sale/fund-raiser is announced, he doesn’t think his refusal to sell chocolates is going to be such a big deal, but it immediately divides the school. Some think Jerry’s stand is heroic, but Archie thinks that Jerry needs to be taught a lesson. Needs to be broken. And Archie knows just how to do it.
This classic novel gives a shocking look at the traditions of high school and the psychological warfare of bullying. And the unspoken complicity that adults provide in order to maintain appearances. (amazon.com book description)
In Cold Blood: Truman Capote
On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues.
As Truman Capote reconstructs the murder and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, he generates both mesmerizing suspense and astonishing empathy. In Cold Blood is a work that transcends its moment, yielding poignant insights into the nature of American violence. (amazon.com book description)
Franny and Zooey: JD Salinger
Volume containing two interrelated stories by J.D. Salinger, published in book form in 1961. The stories, originally published in The New Yorker magazine, concern Franny and Zooey Glass, two members of the family that was the subject of most of Salinger's short fiction. Franny is an intellectually precocious late adolescent who tries to attain spiritual purification by obsessively reiterating the "Jesus prayer" as an antidote to the perceived superficiality and corruptness of life. She subsequently suffers a nervous breakdown. In the second story, her next older brother, Zooey, attempts to heal Franny by pointing out that her constant repetition of the "Jesus prayer" is as self-involved and egotistical as the egotism against which she rails. (amazon.com editorial review)
[Assignments]